Apple also gives a couple more apps the iOS 7 design treatment.

Apple has just released iOS version 7.0.4, an update for all devices running iOS 7. Unlike iOS 7.0.3, which fixed a fairly extensive list of small bugs three weeks ago, this patch addresses only one specific bug that would apparently cause "FaceTime calls to fail for some users." Other "bug fixes and improvements" are promised but not described in detail. Apple's support site doesn't actually feature any details on iOS 7.0.4 just yet, but we'll update this post if we discover any other fixes of note.

In other, tangentially related news, Apple today updated its iBooks app for iPhones and iPads with a new iOS 7-style design, replacing the wooden bookshelf texture from the old version. The iTunes U app for educational institutions has been given a similar makeover. Most of Apple's other apps (including the iLife and iWork suites) have been given the iOS 7 treatment by this point, and with the new iBooks and iTunes U versions, the transformation is mostly complete.

iOS 7.0.4 can be installed on all of the devices that run iOS 7: the iPhones 4, 4S, 5, 5C, and 5S, the fifth-generation iPod touch, and every iPad but the first-generation model.

Update: Apple has also apparently released iOS 6.1.5 for fourth-generation iPod touch users to fix the same FaceTime bug that iOS 7.0.4 fixes. It's a minor update, but it's one of the only times Apple has ever patched an older version of iOS after it had been replaced by a new major version.

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Apparently this update resolves a security issue with App and In-App purchases as well. From the email sent to the Apple Product Security mailing list:

Quote:

APPLE-SA-2013-11-14-1 iOS 7.0.4

iOS 7.0.4 is now available and addresses the following:

App StoreAvailable for: iPhone 4 and later,iPod touch (5th generation) and later, iPad 2 and laterImpact: App and In-App purchases may be completed with insufficient authorizationDescription: A signed-in user may be able to complete a transaction without providing a password when prompted. This issue was addressed by additional enforcement of purchase authorization.CVE-IDCVE-2013-5193

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Boo. I get the move away from skeuomorphism, but in iBooks I actually enjoyed the page-curl simulation. It was easier to pretend I was escaping to read a book, rather than looking at a screen, like I do all day every day.

It still feels a little slow to me on our OG Mini. Like in settings, going between different settings pages takes it a second or more to think about, like from the app store settings to the iCloud settings. Also drops a lot of frames throughout the UI which is a bit jarring. I hope all that can be fixed. I know iOS does tend to slow down old devices over time across updates, but this is with an SoC that's still selling in a lot of products.

Apparently this update resolves a security issue with App and In-App purchases as well. From the email sent to the Apple Product Security mailing list:

Quote:

APPLE-SA-2013-11-14-1 iOS 7.0.4

iOS 7.0.4 is now available and addresses the following:

App StoreAvailable for: iPhone 4 and later,iPod touch (5th generation) and later, iPad 2 and laterImpact: App and In-App purchases may be completed with insufficient authorizationDescription: A signed-in user may be able to complete a transaction without providing a password when prompted. This issue was addressed by additional enforcement of purchase authorization.CVE-IDCVE-2013-5193

Boo. I get the move away from skeuomorphism, but in iBooks I actually enjoyed the page-curl simulation. It was easier to pretend I was escaping to read a book, rather than looking at a screen, like I do all day every day.

Hey folks, why does every iphone update clock in at over 1.3 GIGABYTES for me? I have a 5s and I sync with a MBP and every update since 7.0 has been over 1gb. This one is 1.39. Is there a setting I have wrong or something?

Hey folks, why does every iphone update clock in at over 1.3 GIGABYTES for me? I have a 5s and I sync with a MBP and every update since 7.0 has been over 1gb. This one is 1.39. Is there a setting I have wrong or something?

Delta updates can seemingy only be performed from the iOS device itself. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and perform the update through there, no computer required.

Hey folks, why does every iphone update clock in at over 1.3 GIGABYTES for me? I have a 5s and I sync with a MBP and every update since 7.0 has been over 1gb. This one is 1.39. Is there a setting I have wrong or something?

Yes, you are updating wrong . You are trying to update over the MPB versus updating through the iPhone itself. The iTunes download is for the complete ios 7.0.4 - the one over the air is an incremental patch.

Hey folks, why does every iphone update clock in at over 1.3 GIGABYTES for me? I have a 5s and I sync with a MBP and every update since 7.0 has been over 1gb. This one is 1.39. Is there a setting I have wrong or something?

Delta updates can seemingy only be performed from the iOS device itself. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and perform the update through there, no computer required.

Oh ok. Because I'm using my computer, it starts from scratch. Had no idea. Thank you!

"Update: Apple has also apparently released iOS 6.1.5 for fourth-generation iPod touch users to fix the same FaceTime bug that iOS 7.0.4 fixes. It's a minor update, but it's the first time Apple has ever patched an older version of iOS after it had been replaced by a new major version."

This is huge, even if it seems like a small step. We have been creating a huge number of devices that people are using for all sorts of things that simply aren't getting security updates.

Apparently this update resolves a security issue with App and In-App purchases as well. From the email sent to the Apple Product Security mailing list:

Quote:

APPLE-SA-2013-11-14-1 iOS 7.0.4

iOS 7.0.4 is now available and addresses the following:

App StoreAvailable for: iPhone 4 and later,iPod touch (5th generation) and later, iPad 2 and laterImpact: App and In-App purchases may be completed with insufficient authorizationDescription: A signed-in user may be able to complete a transaction without providing a password when prompted. This issue was addressed by additional enforcement of purchase authorization.CVE-IDCVE-2013-5193

Oh ok. Because I'm using my computer, it starts from scratch. Had no idea. Thank you!

It downloads a full iOS package which can not just update one specific device but all devices which are supported and which can be used for a completely fresh install as well.

That's not correct. When iTunes downloads an iOS update it is device specific. If you download an update for your iPod that can't be used on your iPhone or iPad, or another iPod generation either. It can be used on any iPods of that generation though. So if several family members have the same type of device, say an iPhone 5s, then iTunes only needs to download the file once.

Most of Apple's other apps (including the iLife and iWork suites) have been given the iOS 7 treatment by this point, and with the new iBooks and iTunes U versions, the transformation is mostly complete.

Hey folks, why does every iphone update clock in at over 1.3 GIGABYTES for me? I have a 5s and I sync with a MBP and every update since 7.0 has been over 1gb. This one is 1.39. Is there a setting I have wrong or something?

Yes, you are updating wrong . You are trying to update over the MPB versus updating through the iPhone itself. The iTunes download is for the complete ios 7.0.4 - the one over the air is an incremental patch.

STILL didn't fix the problem of zombie emails - messages that constantly return from the dead after being deleted from the Mail app connecting to IMAP servers!

Are you sure that's not a problem particular to the server you're using?

You are correct, most IMAP accounts don't show the problem. The UW servers distributing web pine emails show the problem - and a few other servers too, judging by the traffic in Apple forums. Not to wander too far off topic, messages deleted on the IOS 7 Mail app are deleted from the server, but they reappear constantly on the device itself. It seems as though the messages are re-populated from a device cache. OSX devices accessing the same IMAP server don't show the problem, other IOS 7 email apps don't show it, and the IOS 6 Mail app didn't have the problem. When UW IT services was contacted they stated that Apple was not using the correct protocol ("and we wrote the protocol")!

STILL didn't fix the problem of zombie emails - messages that constantly return from the dead after being deleted from the Mail app connecting to IMAP servers!

Are you sure that's not a problem particular to the server you're using?

You are correct, most IMAP accounts don't show the problem. The UW servers distributing web pine emails show the problem - and a few other servers too, judging by the traffic in Apple forums. Not to wander too far off topic, messages deleted on the IOS 7 Mail app are deleted from the server, but they reappear constantly on the device itself. It seems as though the messages are re-populated from a device cache. OSX devices accessing the same IMAP server don't show the problem, other IOS 7 email apps don't show it, and the IOS 6 Mail app didn't have the problem. When UW IT services was contacted they stated that Apple was not using the correct protocol ("and we wrote the protocol")!

Something's wrong with that description. If it's a bug on the device repopulating email from a cache, and otherwise the client/server communication is correct, then isn't Apple using the correct protocol, but just has a bug in the client?

Well, I don't know about the rest of you but Find My Friends could keep the stitched leather look. It somehow seems to suit the "friendly" nature of that app. I don't mind the look, as long as it's specific to one app, not plastered all over my beloved OS. Find My Friends seems like it suits the vibe.

Very, very pleased iBooks finally got updated though, if nothing else because the icon looked SO out of place on the first page of my Springboard.

Andrew Cunningham / Andrew has a B.A. in Classics from Kenyon College and has over five years of experience in IT. His work has appeared on Charge Shot!!! and AnandTech, and he records a weekly book podcast called Overdue.